The type of lighting that is most widespread worldwide is the straight fluorescent lamp, with electrical contacts on both sides, which can be found today in all offices, factories, hospitals, etc. Although in the course of the last ten years it has been determined that the operation of these gas discharge lamps, which employ simple chokes in order to limit the current of the gas discharge, is not the optimum solution, uncounted millions of lamps of this type are in use today.
The disadvantages consist in that in the operation of lamps at the customary power frequency of 50 or 60 Hz, the light flickers at this frequency and stroboscopic effects can occur, which, for example, cause running machines to appear to be stopped. Also, the efficiency of these "inductive" fluorescent lamp ballasts is not satisfactory. The efficiency of the physical conversion of the at first invisible gas discharge into visible light can be considerably improved by a modern electronic device operating at high frequency. For equivalent light efficiency, a significant energy savings can be obtained in the process. This is not only a cost factor, but also an obligation in preserving natural resources and the environment.
Of course, the conversion of inductive lamps to electronic high frequency operation is not only a question of the cost of a fluorescent lamp ballast; although such a conversion may be viewed as technically and economically advisable, the expense in installation work associated with such a change prevents a rapid conversion.